Author

Scott Lewis

Posts

April 25, 2013

I receive numerous telephone calls from my Indiana neighbors asking how to file an initial Social Security disability application. I typically recommend that they start the application process on their own, because most of the initial application involves providing information to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that only the claimant will know. It is usually easier to provide that information directly to the SSA rather than to go through an intermediary. There are essentially three ways to file an initial claim: Visit your local Social Security office. If you want to talk face to face with someone when you file your claim, this is your best option. One advantage to applying in person is that you can get answers to any questions you may have, and having a Social Security employee assist you with your application should help to ensure you are providing all of the information the SSA wants. On the other hand, if you go to the office without an appointment you may have to take a number and wait for a long time before finally being able to talk to a Social Security employee. Call the toll free number. By calling 1-800-772-1213, you can talk to a Social Security employee who can answer your questions. Most likely, the employee will make an appointment for you to either visit your local office or complete a telephone interview to start the application process. Visit the Social Security’s website at www.ssa.gov. If you are comfortable using a computer, this is by far the most convenient option. At Social Security’s website, you can complete your application online without having to make an appointment or spend time waiting at the local office. The website takes you step by step through the application form and the Adult Disability Report. Once you have completed all the steps, the website will instruct you to print some pages and mail them to … Continued

April 22, 2013

I have found through many years of practicing disability law that each person’s experience of pain is unique. I have noticed that some of my clients who have similar diagnoses and test results describe the nature and intensity of their pain very differently, and their pain affects each one’s ability to complete daily activities to a different degree. I believe it is important when testifying at your Indiana disability hearing to be realistic about how your pain feels and how severe your pain is. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at your hearing has access to your medical records and is aware of your diagnoses and test results; he will listen to your descriptions of your pain and try to decide if they are consistent with the information in your records. Many times at hearings, the ALJ or your representative will give you a “pain scale” to rate the severity of the pain you experience. A typical pain scale will describe “0” as no pain at all and a “10” as pain so bad you have to go to the hospital. The ALJ will then ask you to assess your pain on a typical day after you have taken your prescribed medications. Even when my clients deal with severe pain every day, I tell them to think hard before telling the judge that they experience pain at a “10” on an average day, unless they really do go to the emergency room several times a week. If the ALJ thinks you are exaggerating your pain symptoms at your hearing, he might not believe other parts of your testimony, either. In my opinion, it is important to tell the truth at your hearing. These judges have presided over numerous hearings and have a lot of experience deciding whether people are being honest … Continued

April 19, 2013

In my experience as an Indiana Social Security disability attorney, my clients who suffer from conditions that cause the loss or limited use of their upper extremities (i.e., their shoulders, arms, and/or hands) have great difficulty finding and maintaining employment. The Social Security Administration (SSA) generally recognizes that a person with this type of disability finds greatly reduced numbers of jobs available to them in the national and local economy. When I represent clients at Social Security disability hearings, Vocational Experts (VEs) often appear at the hearings to testify about the availability of jobs for people with specific limitations. If a claimant is found to be unable to use his dominant hand to perform its full range of movements, the VE usually testifies that there are few, if any, jobs available that will accommodate such limitations. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) may cause numbness, tingling, or burning in the fingers, thumb, and hand; sometimes these sensations are also present in the wrist. Some individuals with CTS experience pain when attempting to use their hands to perform even the simplest of tasks. While the cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome may not be known, it is believed that using or overusing one’s hands in work-related situations may be a dominant factor in causing the symptoms. Many of my clients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome have spent significant time performing occupations in which they used their hands extensively working on assembly lines, performing data entry, or using tools. In my experience, some people get temporary relief from CTS with treatments including wearing splints and receiving injections, but they only seems to be short-term fixes. Some people require surgery to help alleviate the pain and numbness. This surgery, commonly known as a “carpal tunnel release,” does work for some individuals, but many others have symptoms that … Continued

April 15, 2013

I represent my Indiana neighbors in hundreds of disability hearings each year, and find the diagnosis of depression in the majority of them. From my experience talking to these individuals, I understand how disabling depression can be and how it can prevent anyone from holding down a full-time job. When the Social Security Administration (SSA) analyzes your claim, it must consider all of the impairments you have, both physical and mental, alone and in combination. It is important, therefore, when you apply for benefits to let the SSA know about all of the problems that you have that affect your ability to work. One of my biggest challenges representing people with depression comes when I have a client who is receiving all of her mental health diagnoses and treatment from her family physician. While your family doctor can make a diagnosis of depression and prescribe medications for it, she is not a mental health specialist. One factor an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) considers when determining whether your depression is severe enough to keep you from being able to work is whether you are getting treatment from a specialist. If you have heart problems, most judges expect you to receive treatment from a cardiologist; if you have back problems they want to see records from an orthopedist. In the same way, if you have depression or another mental health impairment, most ALJs think that you should be receiving treatment from a psychiatrist and attending counseling with a psychologist, social worker, or other mental health professional. Your chances of winning your claim may be greatly enhanced if you are seeing a psychiatrist and therapist on a regular basis. When I represent a client with depression, I try to obtain statements from his psychiatrist or therapist to submit to the ALJ. A specialist … Continued

April 10, 2013

Sometimes it is necessary to think about continuing, or postponing, your disability hearing. As a disability attorney, I generally do not like to continue hearings. Because the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) have such crowded schedules, we have to wait a long time to get to a hearing, and rescheduling a hearing often means even more months of waiting before we finally get in front of the judge. In my experience, most judges do not want to continue hearings either. They want to keep things moving along quickly once a case gets to the hearing level. One reason an ALJ does not like to continue a Social Security disability hearing, especially on the day of the hearing, is because a lot of resources have been expended in preparing to hear the case. Many hearings include vocational and medical experts paid by the Social Security Administration who have reviewed the case file and are ready to testify that day. If the hearing is rescheduled, all of those experts will have to return to testify on another day. Why, then, would a judge consider rescheduling a hearing? Oftentimes it is because the case file does not contain all of the claimant’s medical records. Your medical records are a very important part of your case because they provide hard evidence of your diagnoses, symptoms, and prognosis. Without all of your records, the ALJ will not be able to get a complete picture of your medical conditions. If all of your records are not available in time for the hearing, though, the ALJ will often proceed with the hearing, taking your testimony and the testimony of any experts present. The judge will then hold the record open for a specific amount of time so that the additional medical documents can be furnished at a later … Continued

March 18, 2013

After a bit of a break I am back to blogging. I enjoy sharing my experiences concerning the Social Security Administration (SSA) with prospective and current clients through my blog, but I must admit, going to hearings and preparing cases for hearings can be time consuming. So what has been happening since my last blog entry? The best news for disabled Indiana residents is that the waiting time for a hearing has been getting shorter. I have seen a noticeable difference in waiting times recently and wonder how long this current trend will last. What does this mean for you? Depending on your financial situation, getting to a hearing even a few months sooner may be the difference between keeping your home or facing foreclosure, between having continuous access to health care or spending months without health insurance, or between obtaining monthly disability payments or completely depleting your life savings. On the other hand, you may be in such a desperate situation that having to wait any time at all for a Social Security disability decision is enough to bring you to financial ruin. So what can you do? I tell my clients to look for low or no-cost healthcare through local hospitals and clinics, seek help from their local government trustees, and ask their physicians to help them find programs that provide medications at cheaper rates, just to name a few. These days, when I have clients who complain about their waiting time for a hearing, I find myself thinking how fortunate they are to only have to wait about a year to get a hearing. You heard me right – they are fortunate, compared to my clients from not long ago who typically had to wait nearly two years to get a hearing! Not only do the shorter wait times help our disabled clients get their benefits sooner, they also save those clients some money. The sooner a claimant receives benefits, the fewer months of … Continued

December 11, 2012

Depression seems to rear its head in the majority of the claims I handle in front of the Social Security Administration (SSA). While some of my clients suffer from depression alone others may suffer from depression due to their physical disabilities. I am sure I am not alone when it comes to a large portion of my clients suffering from depression, in fact I am sure the Administrative Law Judges who preside over the hearings I attend routinely examine medical records with a diagnosis of depression. With this being a common thread I experience, just how do you win your disability claim when trying to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)? In my experience you need to take a long hard look at who you are getting psychological treatment from. If you are receiving treatment from a general practitioner you may want to rethink your medical options. The SSA usually wants you to be seeing someone who specializes in the disability you claim you have. In other words, a psychiatrist, psychologist, or a mental health therapist may be your best option when trying to prove you have symptoms of depression that are preventing you from working. A well documented course of ongoing therapy with detailed progress notes can go a long way in convincing a Judge you are disabled. Hospitalizations for mental illness can also show you are not getting better in spite of treatment and following prescribed medications. Sometimes I will sit in a hearing and listen to my client testify and think they are certainly clinically depressed by their testimony, but realize at the same time that their medical records are minimal and they have not been seeing a doctor that the SSA is going to recognize. The truth is you can be … Continued

November 30, 2012

Are you nervous about your upcoming disability hearing? When I talk to my clients before their hearings, one of the most common things they talk about is how anxious they are. Many of them seem to be on the verge of an anxiety attack when they enter the hearing room. I attempt to prepare my clients for this big day by letting them know what the atmosphere of the hearing will be like, the types of questions they will be asked, and what they should talk about (or not talk about) when they answer those questions. I have seen some attorneys and representatives who do not prepare their clients for their hearings at all, or they do so in the waiting room right before the hearing. It is my practice to speak with each of my clients a day or two before the hearing; we have plenty of time to prepare, but it’s close enough to the hearing that the client will remember everything we talked about. I usually spend between 45 minutes and an hour letting them know exactly what to expect at the hearing. Of course, no matter how well-prepared we are, hearings can take many unexpected turns and there can always be surprises. However, I know from experience how the majority of hearings are conducted and what issues are likely to arise, and I am able to explain to my clients what they should expect. Fist, it is important to remember the hearing is supposed to be informal. In other words, most of the Administrative Law Judges do not follow strict trial rules and procedures. Does this mean you can talk out of turn and interrupt others at the hearing? No; you still must wait your turn and be respectful. Most judges give everyone an opportunity to … Continued

November 29, 2012

As an Indiana Social Security attorney, the majority of my clients suffer from back pain. I personally have occasionally experienced back pain that makes it hard to move around, and I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if the pain was present all of the time. I believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, to work a full time job if this was happening to me on a constant basis. I can sympathize with my clients when they describe their pain to me, but I also realize sympathy is not what they want. They want to be able to provide for themselves and their families when they are unable to work due to back problems. It is important for Social Security disability claimants to know there is a very specific way the Social Security Administration (SSA) looks at impairments involving the spine. One of the first things the SSA looks at when examining claims involving the spine is whether or not the individual meets or equals a “Listing”. The SSA publishes a set of guidelines that details what the SSA considers to be disabling conditions. Listing 1.00 covers the musculoskeletal system. Listing 1.04 specifically covers disorders of the spine, and in order to meet it you must have objective evidence (e.g., medical tests or imaging) of your impairment. MRIs can be of great importance when attempting to show you meet or equal this listing. You usually cannot depend on the SSA to send you for the appropriate testing and imaging; instead your own physician must conduct testing or refer you for testing that proves you have the required criteria. When I am trying to prove that a client meets or equals this listing, I send questionnaires to the treating physicians requesting they provide relevant details about the … Continued

November 11, 2012

Practicing Social Security Disability law in Indianapolis has opened my eyes to how many people suffer from diabetes. Many of my clients suffer from several different disabling conditions at the same time, and more often than not, diabetes is on their list. At your disability hearing in front of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the judge is required to consider all of your severe impairments when determining whether you are disabled. Therefore, it is very important to let your attorney or representative know if diabetes contributes to your inability to work. I talk to my clients extensively about how diabetes keeps them from working so I can better understand their limitations and present them to the judge. Diabetes mellitus (or simply diabetes) occurs when a person’s blood glucose level, commonly called “blood sugar,” is unacceptably high, usually due to poor insulin production in the body. Diabetes is labelled as “type I” or “type II”. The symptoms of diabetes can include: Frequent urination Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet Fatigue Blurred vision In my practice, the most common reason my diabetic clients find themselves unable to work is the tingling or burning known as neuropathy in their hands and feet. They also suffer other symptoms that keep them from working when they are unable to control their diabetes with medication or insulin. In my experience as a disability lawyer, the inability to stand and walk can greatly reduce the number and types of jobs a person can perform. Many of my clients with neuropathy or swelling in their legs and feet cannot sit for very long without pain, and they are required to elevate their legs to relieve that pain. These limitations reduce their “physical residual functional capacity” – the types of activities they are physically able to perform … Continued